SUCH atmosphere in this photo of The Bone Queen that we just posted on Instagram (*hint hint* follow us @inkslingerbooks if you haven’t already!)
Now we have a treat for you: Emily Damesick, the loveliest editor at Walker HQ (shh! you didn’t hear it from me) has written us a guest post about the five things she learned whilst editing The Bone Queen. Grab a cuppa and keep reading...
Five Things I Learned While Editing The Bone Queen
1. Alison Croggon’s writing is beautiful. I knew this already, of course, but working on her new novel made me appreciate even more the poetic, lyrical quality of her prose. I only wish I could put a sentence together like she can.
2. Pellinor fans are the BEST. They’ve created fan fiction, fan art, tumblr accounts… Many of them know the series inside out, which did add a little pressure when I was working on The Bone Queen – I wanted to make sure we got all the details correct!
3. The setting of The Bone Queen might be fantasy, but the themes are universal. Cadvan of Lirigon’s pride and arrogance are his undoing, and in the novel he must atone for his mistakes, but also learn to forgive himself. Cadvan is that believable combination of flawed and likeable, and we sympathise with his struggle even as we condemn him for his past behaviour.
4. The world of the Pellinor books is so vivid and believable that you’ll feel transported there. I particularly enjoyed all the descriptions of food! And I love the maps at the beginning of the book – I always like being able to picture where everything is.
5. The Bone Queen is the perfect introduction to the Pellinor series, and it will also delight long-standing fans, particularly as it gives further insight into the world of Barding and the background of Cadvan of Lirigon. If you’re a fan of high fantasy, you need this on your bookshelf!